Photo Credit: Reuters
Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the pole position for the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the Mercedes.
Verstappen edged Russell by 0.236 seconds in the best qualifying for Mercedes this year. Third-place Hamilton was 0.136 seconds further behind.
Before to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, Fernando Alonso was fourth in an Aston Martin.
On his first lap of qualifying, Sergio Perez crashed the second Red Bull, meaning he would start the race at the back.
It is a significant setback for the Mexican, who entered the weekend declaring he had faith in Red Bull’s support to battle his teammate and is currently just one point behind Verstappen in the championship after winning the most recent race in Saudi Arabia.
After a day filled with mistakes caused by his wheels locking up while braking, Perez insisted there was a problem with the vehicle but insisted he “trusts totally with my team we will be able to fix the issue.”
Aston’s Lance Stroll finished fifth, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who complained being held up by Sainz on his final lap and was unsure of the reason, and Alex Albon’s excellent performance for Williams.
Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine finished in the top 10. Lando Norris’ 13th-place finish extended McLaren’s rocky start to the year.
Albon and Hulkenberg put up impressive performances in their often uncompetitive cars to finish in the top 10, but the Mercedes was the surprise of qualifying.